Cuban Activist Faces 10-Year Sentence for Anti-Government Facebook Posts

Cuban activist Alexander Verdecia Rodríguez, regional coordinator for the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu) in Granma province, faces a potential 10-year prison sentence for criticizing the government on Facebook and allegedly encouraging people to "rise up against the system and its leaders."

According to a request filed by prosecutor Eliannys Bárbara Infante Bazán—circulated on social media—Verdecia stands accused of “propaganda against the constitutional order” and “incitement to commit a crime.” The prosecution claims that in January 2024, he sought to "disturb public order" by posting messages online that called for rebellion.

The case file cites specific posts where Verdecia reportedly wrote, “No more blackouts, down with Díaz-Canel, down with the communist tyranny,” and demanded the release of political prisoners. He was arrested on February 6, 2025—one year after the posts—and remains in pretrial detention at Las Mangas provincial prison in Granma.

Prosecutors are seeking the maximum sentence under Article 124.2 of the Cuban Penal Code, which allows for up to ten years in prison for spreading propaganda against the constitutional order through media, including digital platforms.

Verdecia’s case highlights the Cuban government’s ongoing pattern of harshly punishing citizens who express dissenting views online. Since the mass protests of July 11, 2021, digital activism has been increasingly criminalized as part of a broader crackdown on peaceful opposition.

Verdecia’s prosecution is not an isolated incident. In January 2023, Sulmira Martínez Pérez—known online as Salem de Cuba—was arrested in Havana for running a Facebook page critical of the government. Like Verdecia, she was charged with “enemy propaganda.” She remains in custody, awaiting a trial that has been postponed three times.

According to Prisoners Defenders, Cuba currently holds more than a thousand political prisoners, many of whom are jailed for peacefully protesting. These cases often involve prolonged pretrial detention, lack of due process, and charges that violate international legal standards.

The imprisonment of Alexander Verdecia over social media posts constitutes a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds. While Cuba signed the ICCPR in 2008, it has never ratified the treaty and is therefore not subject to its enforcement mechanisms.

Eliannis Villavicencio Jorge, Verdecia’s wife, has publicly condemned his arrest, blaming the regime and State Security for separating their daughters from their father. She also claimed the family is under constant surveillance and struggling financially. “Cuba does not protect children. No more state terrorism,” she wrote on social media.

Villavicencio told Martí Noticias that the family chose not to hire a lawyer because public defenders in Cuba align with the state. Neither Verdecia nor his relatives have been informed of a trial date.